Earth
Guardian Prince Endymion
By Senshi
of Ruin and Mizu no Senshi
Act Seventeen Recap:
(Mamoru’s POV)
“Moon Prism Power… Make up!”
Tsukino Usagi is Sailor Moon. This is one fact that I’m
still trying to get my head around.
“I think you are getting confused as to who’s the pig,
Tsukino Kobuta.”
“It’s Usagi!”
“I know that, but piglet suits you so much better.”
I still manage to treat her like dirt, even when I try to
remind myself that I have risked my life for her on many occasions.
I certainly don’t want to encourage her, especially as I
have a fiancée and I love Hina just as much as I did before I knew Tsukino
Usagi, but I can’t stop thinking about her…
“A Youma? Why didn’t you get Taro or Kisho to help?”
“I can look after myself” came the rather irritated reply,
“But it was really strange. The Youma was…” he trailed off as Mamoru followed
his gaze and almost gasped out loud.
He slowly looked up at the creature before him. It
appeared to resemble a giant hand, though it was glossy and transparent like
glass. Tiny orange fibres shuddered throughout its being at it towered over the
terrified youth, flickering like flames in a dying hearth.
“What is this?” Mamoru whispered as he stared at the Youma
across the street from them. Schoolgirls and commuters alike ran at the sight,
but the Youma made no effort to sap their energy.
“I take it you recognise that Youma?” Masaki asked darkly.
Then Youma from past battles started popping up all over
the Juuban District. They had us running ragged for the best part of the
afternoon before suddenly disappearing.
“That wasn’t their purpose” Kunzite replied to this.
“Then what was? They had us running all over Juuban just
to disappear before our eyes?”
Tuxedo Kamen lowered his cane and glanced about. There was
no sign of the Youma anywhere.
“Kunzite?” he turned to the older man, “What do you think
happened here?”
He shrugged, “I don’t know. I can’t sense a trap, but they
must have had some purpose” he frowned, the frustration clear in his voice.
I don’t know what they wanted but its clear that the
battle isn’t over yet; in fact it may well have just begun.
*****
Act Eighteen:
“Venus” Artemis couldn’t breathe. It felt as though the
breath had been knocked from his body as his old friend stepped towards
Zoisite. He shuddered at the darkness of her expression and the sneer that
twisted her beautiful face. Venus… he hadn’t seen her since the past life and
now he was desperately wishing that it could remain so. This wasn’t the Sailor
Venus he remembered and loved… this was a twisted demon spawn of Beryl’s
darkness and whereas it might resemble Venus, the likeness was only on the
surface.
Zoisite’s cry of pain was enough to jolt Artemis from his
bitter thoughts. He looked up and gasped in horror when he saw Jupiter and
Mercury. Zoisite stood, obviously shaken by the swiftness of Venus’s attack, as
was Artemis.
“You can’t leave. Our Queen, Queen Beryl, is dying to meet
you” Venus taunted as Zoisite stumbled to his feet, flipping his cape over his
shoulder and out of the way as he did so.
Queen Beryl… Artemis felt a chill down his spine at the
mention of the Queen who ruled over the darkness.
Zoisite raised his sword, readying to fight all three of
them when Venus attacked again. Her ‘love-me chain’ whipped forwards, faster
than Zoisite could hope to react and wrapped itself around his blade, pulling
it from his hand. A gasp stuck in Artemis’s throat as the weapon skidded across
the floor and out of its owner’s reach.
“It’s useless to fight” Mercury said, the gentle edge in
her voice was unmistakable, even now.
Zoisite’s reply was to conjure a ball of green energy in
his right hand and hurl it at her. Mercury leapt aside and the chairs behind
her were incinerated in an instant. Mercury’s gaze darkened and she fired an
attack straight back at him. Zoisite blocked her assault, but Venus struck him
from behind catching him a glancing blow. He stumbled and barely managed to
fend off Jupiter’s ‘flower hurricane’. No sooner had he done this did Mercury
attack again.
Artemis turned away, wincing at every blow that was dealt
to the white haired Prince. He couldn’t watch this… no matter what he might
think of Seiichi… No matter how good Zoisite was he couldn’t hope to beat three
of them. He couldn’t even attack them! They struck one after the other with
fairly weak attacks and weren’t giving him any opening to fight back. Every
time Zoisite blocked an attack he was met by another. The Senshi weren’t aiming
to kill; had they been then Zoisite would be dead already, but this fact
brought Artemis little comfort.
Artemis shuddered at Venus’s words. Beryl… after all this
time she still wanted the Prince. If they captured Zoisite alive…
“Supreme… thunder!”
The electricity attack exploded right in front of Zoisite,
the force of the blast knocking him to the ground. The young man hit the floor
at Jupiter’s feet, and quickly Mercury and Venus moved in. They were all now
standing over him. Grimacing in pain and added exertion, Zoisite pushed himself
up onto his knees.
“Give up yet?” Venus smirked, “It would be better for you
if you did. Struggling with only bring you more pain. We don’t want to hurt
you. We are only following our orders.”
“Which are?” he whispered as he got unsteadily to his feet
and Artemis was horrified to see that his charge was shaking with the sheer
effort of doing this simple thing.
“To bring you back alive,” Jupiter replied, “Beryl-sama
has a special interest in you.”
“I bet she does” Artemis muttered under his breath as he
made his decision. Before any of the Senshi could react he ran away, leaping
through the open window and out into the street before they could stop him or
even respond to him being there in the first place. Artemis couldn’t bear to
watch this anymore, but he was powerless against the Senshi. Even though it
meant putting Venus’s life at risk, Artemis knew he had to go and get the
Shitennou.
****
“As I said,” Taro complained as the four of them walked
slowly back towards Crown, “A complete waste of time and Motoki will probably
be furious that I closed Crown early. If he calls me by that nickname I swear I
will--”
“It wasn’t a complete waste of time” Mamoru tried to sound
positive, but how could he? There had been no battle and they had stood around
looking like complete fools!
“It was” Masaki agreed quietly. “But what worries me is
that we don’t know why the Dark Kingdom did that.”
“Indeed” Kisho nodded, “Why waste energy in that way? What
could have been their purpose?”
Mamoru shrugged uneasily, feeling responsible for the
failing though there was no way it could possibly be his fault. He was mostly
angry that his powers still hadn’t awakened and that he couldn’t sense Youma or
any sort of plot. He had hoped that they would do so soon… how could he fight
as Tuxedo Kamen otherwise?
“Illusionary Youma” Taro tried to make a joke of the
matter, “Is that all the Dark Kingdom have to throw at us now? If they are
getting that pathetic then perhaps we should have beaten them by now.”
“It was a distraction!” a new voice, one that Mamoru did
not recognise rang out across the street. He turned, in time to see a white plushie
cat race across the road towards them to skid to a halt at Masaki’s feet.
“Distraction?” Masaki repeated doubtfully, “Who are you?”
“How do you know who we are?” Kisho added, already tensing
as though expecting a fight.
“There is no time to explain that” the plushie cried, “You
must come with me unless you want the Dark Kingdom to capture the Prince.”
“What?” Mamoru demanded, feeling a chill at the cat’s
words, though he couldn’t understand why.
“The illusionary Youma were a distraction. The Dark Senshi
are attacking him as we speak.”
“Where are they?” Mamoru asked, taking the lead as none of
the others were willing to trust a talking cat, but he sensed that the plushie
was telling the truth. Why would he lie and he seemed genuinely concerned about
Zoisite-sama?
“The concert hall. I’ll lead the way” he turned and
started running back the way he had come. Mamoru felt three pairs of eyes on
him as he also broke into a run, making the decision for all of them. He just
hoped that it was the right one.
*****
“Shine aqua… illusion!”
Zoisite barely had time to shield himself against Dark
Mercury’s attack before Dark Jupiter launched her own from behind. He winced
and gritted his teeth as her second ‘flower hurricane’ struck his back and
knocked him to the floor again. As before, he struggled to get to his feet. The
Senshi were getting desperate and their attacks stronger. Zoisite knew it was a
stand off. Whilst he was not strong enough to defeat all three on his own, they
couldn’t get near enough to capture him. He was dully beginning to realise that
he might not get out of this alive. He would rather die than be taken alive,
especially as they were under direct orders from Beryl…
“Zoisite” Venus called as Mercury struck him again, “You
are bringing this on yourself. Why not surrender now before we have to get
really nasty?”
He shook his head and turned to fend off another attack by
Jupiter.
“You can’t win!” Venus shouted, “Just give up now!”
Zoisite ignored her as at that moment Jupiter and Mercury
struck together. He shielded himself as best he could, but it wasn’t enough.
The three magics exploded in a burst of rainbow colours and threw Zoisite back
against the wall. Stars danced before his vision as he fell down again.
“Give up yet?” Jupiter smirked. Zoisite struggled to get
back up, but he found he didn’t have the strength. That last attack… all he
could do was lie there helpless…
“Open the portal” she ordered Mercury, “We’re going to
report to Beryl-sama. I expect she will be ecstatic and we will be--”
A shriek cut her off mid-sentence and Venus fell to the
ground clutching her arm in pain as blood welled up around a small gash on her
shoulder. The remaining Senshi skittered backwards, suddenly unsure of
themselves.
“Zoisite-sama? Daijobu?” he looked up when he felt someone
kneeling down beside him.
Jadeite, Nephrite and Kunzite stood in front of him, their
swords drawn and Kunzite slashed his at the remaining standing Senshi, the blue
light knocking them to the ground.
“You…” Jupiter seethed, “This is unforgivable!” she
teleported away in a flash of green light, taking the fallen Venus with her.
“We won’t forget this” Mercury warned before following
suit.
Once she had disappeared Zoisite relaxed slightly and
allowed Tuxedo Kamen to help him to stand. He glanced down at Artemis, who
lowered his gaze to the floor guiltily and did not say a word.
“Daijobu?” Tuxedo Kamen repeated as he helped Zoisite to
some of the chairs at the back of the concert hall. Zoisite slumped down into
one as a wave of fatigue washed over him.
“I’m fine” he managed to choke out, though the wavering of
his voice did not accentuate this in the slightest. “Thank you” he added
softly. If they hadn’t of… Zoisite almost shook at the thought of what might
have happened had they not come along when they did.
“Zoisite-sama” he looked up as Jadeite handed him his
sword.
“Thank you” Zoisite repeated noting that Jadeite did not
meet his gaze and quickly fell back behind Nephrite as though unsure of how to
act around him.
Zoisite sheathed his sword back at his side, suddenly
loathing the silence that had befallen them. Kunzite broke this by demanding to
know who Artemis was.
“Artemis was with me when I awakened” was all Zoisite
would allow himself to divulge on that matter, “he taught me how to use my
powers.”
“Sailor Moon has a black plushie” Jadeite observed
quietly, “She’s called Luna.”
Zoisite looked up at this, giving Jadeite a look that
clearly said ‘don’t say anything more’ and the blonde instantly fell silent
again.
“Why were they attacking you?” Kunzite was not as easily
intimidated as Jadeite and stepped forward until he was directly in front of
Zoisite, “Why did they want to capture you alive?”
“Queen Beryl, the ruler of the Dark Kingdom, hates the
past life” he replied, struggling to keep his voice even as he spoke, though
his weariness was easily detectable and, as much as Zoisite was grateful to the
Shitennou for coming to his aid, he just wanted to go back to the hotel so that
he could de-transform. The sheer effort of keeping the transformation going was
ebbing away even more of his strength.
It’s part of the discipline of being the Prince, Artemis
had told him on numerous occasions when the pressure had almost become too much
and the plushie had stressed that his burden was so much more than just being a
guardian. Zoisite took a few deep breaths to try and calm himself. The immense
tiredness was still there, but muted somewhat, for the time being at least.
“She hates the past life?” Kunzite repeated sceptically,
“Is that the best explanation you can give?”
“It is the only one I know” Zoisite replied, forcing himself
to hold Kunzite’s gaze. The white haired Prince knew he had to tread carefully.
If he gave them too much information then they would begin to suspect things
that they were not yet ready for, but if he gave them too little then they
would lose faith in him.
“Queen Beryl wants me alive and, I suspect, that death
would be preferable to whatever it was that she had in store for me.”
“What would you have done had we not come to your rescue?”
Kunzite mocked, “Kill yourself?”
“Yes” Zoisite didn’t hesitate to reply and Tuxedo Kamen
gasped slightly at this.
“Are you that keen to die?” Nephrite questioned.
“To be taken alive would be even worse” Zoisite said
darkly, sensing that he was losing them anyway so added, “But I’m not keen to
die.”
Kunzite nodded, obviously he still harboured doubts but
Tuxedo Kamen and Jadeite at least seemed at ease around him.
“And you have no idea why they wanted you alive?” Kunzite
was intent on forcing the issue and Zoisite knew he would have to give them
something than his usual cryptic answers.
“The Dark Kingdom attacked the world of the past, but it
was the Princess who destroyed the planet.”
“The Princess?” Kunzite did not seem as shocked as the
others and this begged the question ‘just how much did the oldest king remember
of the past life?’
“The Princess?” Tuxedo Kamen repeated, almost hopefully,
“Do you know her?”
“I do not remember her” Zoisite hesitated before adding,
“Queen Beryl loathed the Princess. It was her jealousy and rage that caused the
Dark Kingdom to be born.”
“Jealousy?” Tuxedo Kamen pressed, “She was jealous of the
Princess?”
“The Princess was everything that Beryl wasn’t and she
hated her for this so she took the Princess’s Senshi from her” Zoisite shook
his head.
“And you know no more than that?” Kunzite demanded.
“No” Zoisite replied, attempting to stand as he did so. He
just wanted to leave, but his legs almost gave way beneath him and he would
have fallen had Nephrite not grabbed a hold of him to steady him somewhat.
Zoisite smiled gratefully up at the red haired king even as Artemis suggested
that they should leave.
“You should rest a while longer” Tuxedo Kamen suggested,
the compassion and concern in his voice was obvious, and Zoisite almost nodded
in agreement had Artemis not forced the issue.
“In here?” the plushie demanded softly, “He would be
better going home.”
“Where do you live? Is it close by?” Tuxedo Kamen wanted
to know, “Can we help you get there?”
“No” Zoisite pulled away from Nephrite and this time
managed to take a few tentative steps away from them, “I can teleport back
there easily enough.”
Jadeite caught his eye and the almost annoyed look on the
blonde’s face was unmistakeable and Zoisite was perfectly aware of how cold he
seemed to them, but he did not intend for him to come across this way. He
wouldn’t have minded them help him had it been under different circumstances.
In fact, he was surprised that they would be this concerned about him.
“I’m sorry” he found himself saying, “I know you are
disappointed. There are so many things that are still unclear and I know you
were hoping that I could answer your questions, but I know as little as you.
All that I can remember I have told you” all that I am able to tell you at
this stage…
“Will you be okay?” Tuxedo Kamen insisted, after they took
a few moments to debate what Zoisite had said. It was obvious that Kunzite
still didn’t believe it, but it was clear from the king’s resigned look that he
would be content to leave the matter be… for now.
Jadeite was harder to read. Zoisite could tell he was torn
between his loyalty to his Prince and his friendship with Tuxedo Kamen and the
others so he remained silent, refusing to meet Zoisite’s gaze.
Nephrite seemed hesitant and Zoisite could tell that he
wanted to speak with him about something… something he was obviously loath to
voice himself. Zoisite wanted to call him on this, but something told him that
Nephrite wouldn’t thank him for this.
“I just need to rest” Zoisite replied to Tuxedo Kamen’s
earlier question, “They caught me off-guard that is all.”
“Okay” the masked man agreed, “But, I have one question,
if I may, Zoisite-sama?”
“Yes?”
“Artemis found us in our normal forms. Do you know who we
are?”
There was no way out of this so Zoisite did not reply at
all, but his silence was enough to confirm what his response would be.
“I see” Tuxedo Kamen smiled, and said nothing more on the
matter. Zoisite was expecting some sort of reaction from Kunzite at least, but
a glance from the leader and the complaint died on his lips.
There was little else that could be said, so Zoisite
simply knelt down and picked up Artemis before teleporting back to the hotel
room, but his ordeal was not over yet…
*****
An uneasy silence overtook the Shitennou when Zoisite-sama
left and Nephrite hated it. Tuxedo Kamen seemed a little disappointed that the
Prince had not answered any of their questions and Nephrite berated himself for
not asking the one question that he was sure that Zoisite-sama could answer.
Why didn’t he have any memories of the past life? Nephrite hated this being
kept in the dark. It was as though he was fighting blind. Even Mamoru, whose
true powers had not yet awakened, knew something of the past life. Why did
Nephrite only know the life he led now?
He frowned and de-transformed, as did the others and they
left the concert hall, each lost in their own thoughts until Mamoru broke the
silence by saying:
“So he knows as little as us.”
“Or so he says,” Kisho replied darkly, “He is obviously
hiding things from us.”
Taro had got that impression, too, but Mamoru answered
this by saying that Zoisite-sama had more responsibility and if there were
things that he wasn’t telling them then there was a very good reason behind it.
“You’re the leader” Kisho pointed out, his voice taking a
hardened edge that he normally reserved for Taro or even Masaki at times, “He
told you this himself. How can you lead blind?”
Mamoru shrugged; almost as though he were afraid of the
past life, “I just think we should treat him with some respect…” he trailed off
and then added, “Though it would be easier to protect him if we knew who he
was.”
“I should go” Masaki startled them all by saying very quickly
after Mamoru’s last sentence, “I have somewhere to be” he added a little
uneasily. Zoisite’s exit must have irked him, too, Taro reasoned, though his
friend seemed almost uncomfortable around them.
“I’ll see you tomorrow” Mamoru called after him as Masaki
turned away, referring to college. Masaki nodded, but did not say anything
more.
“What’s wrong with him?” Kisho wondered once he had gone.
“He’s probably tired” Mamoru said as they turned the
corner towards Crown. Taro’s heart sank when he saw Motoki pacing up and down
outside the karaoke parlour. When the man saw him, he immediately raced over to
him.
“Where the hell have you been? I leave you in charge for
one afternoon and when I come back I find Crown closed!”
“I had somewhere I had to be” Taro replied, struggling to
keep his temper in check as Motoki continued to shout at him.
“Then why didn’t you say something, Kimi-kun? The Manager
would fire us both if he knew! We’ve lost a whole afternoon’s business because
of you so you’ll have to stay late tonight and work to make up for it.”
“But” Taro protested.
“No ‘buts’” Motoki snapped, grabbing hold of his arm with
the intention of pulling him inside.
Taro scowled and pulled his arm free, “Fine. Just don’t
touch me!”
Motoki sighed and stormed back into Crown, barely even
noticing Kisho or Mamoru.
“Do you want me to talk to him?” Mamoru offered quietly.
Taro sighed and snapped back, “What good would that do?
What in hells could you tell him? That we were fighting to save our Prince from
the Dark Kingdom?”
“I was just saying…”
“Well don’t”
“Taro-kun--”
“Leave it. I’ll see you tomorrow” Taro turned and hurried
inside before Mamoru could voice any more protests.
“Kimi-kun--” Motoki started as he slammed the front door
behind him so hard that one of the glass panels cracked. Seeing this, the man
gulped nervously and dismissed what he was about to say with a wave of his
hand. “Don’t worry. Just make sure you clean up and then you can go, okay?”
“Whatever” Taro snarled as he grabbed the mop and bucket,
“Whatever.”
******
“This is unforgivable”
Dark Mars smirked as she leaned back against the wall of
the adjourning tunnel, listening intently at the reprimand her fellow Senshi
were getting from the Queen.
“You had the Prince exactly where you wanted him! Why did
you let him escape?” came the next wave of her incensed questioning.
“We were out numbered, my Queen” Venus protested, “When
the Shitennou turned up…”
“You had ample time to capture him before they arrived.
Why didn’t you?”
“He was most difficult and as you said you didn’t want him
hurt, it hindered our methods” Jupiter replied, “But rest assured we will not
let it go. We will try again and won’t rest until he is kneeling before you as
you so desire.”
Beryl liked this, but the disappointment was still
embedded in her voice as she dismissed the Senshi for now.
“So you failed” Mars smirked as one by one they passed her
by.
Venus paused and scowled at the red fuku clad figure
leaning so casually against the cave wall. “I suppose you have a better plan?”
“I do” Mars’s grin widened, but she refused to elaborate
and this angered the leader of the Senshi even more.
“You won’t succeed” Venus warned, “Our enemies are strong
and Queen Beryl-sama will punish you for failing her.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that” Mars turned away,
walking down the corridor, making no effort to disguise her triumph in the
blonde’s failure. Once she had brought the Prince before Beryl then she would
replace Venus as the leader of the Dark Senshi. It was she who truly deserved
that role and Mars fully intended to get it.
******
“You are supposed to be resting. One of the others will be
along in a bit to deal with it”
“It’s only one Youma and I feel fine.”
“Only one Youma?” Artemis whispered to himself as watched
his charge sleeping. As soon as Zoisite had arrived back at the Okura he
had de-transformed and gone to bed, ignoring the white cat plushie altogether
and Artemis found himself feeling strangely guilty over what had happened. That
had been four hours ago and he had watched Seiichi sleep for most of the time,
hiding only when Tetsuya came to the room to enquire whether or not Seiichi
would be joining him for dinner in the hotel’s restaurant. Seiichi had woken
briefly to decline and complained of a headache. Tetsuya had agreed that he
should sleep for a while longer and would be back to check on him later.
Artemis lowered his gaze at these thoughts, mixed in were
images of the events of the afternoon. Seiichi shouldn’t have been placed in
that situation. He shouldn’t have taken it upon himself to follow that
illusionary Youma. Artemis should have guessed that it was a trap.
“I know what I’m doing, Artemis.”
“Do you? I admit you’ve come a long way since we first
met, but you’re not going to be able to complete the mission if you continue to
take stupid risks.”
The only reason he had helped Seiichi to awaken his powers
was so that the young Prince could help Artemis to save Venus. Alone, the
plushie knew he would never be able to do it and Seiichi had taken pity on him
and agreed to help in exchange for Artemis’s knowledge of the past life and….
Indeed, it had been Artemis who had taught Seiichi to use his powers properly,
but the young man, whereas he was usually so quiet and reserved, cared
passionately for the mission and this led to foolish mistakes like the one this
afternoon.
“I thought you had to wait for the tuner?”
“I do,” he said, realising that in the heat of the
conversation he had completely forgotten about this. “But it can’t hurt just to
try a few notes.”
“Seiichi, I really think you ought too--”
Artemis was cut off just as Seiichi placed his hands on
the piano keys and the door swung open.
The plushie couldn’t explain the sense of relief he felt
when the piano tuner fell to the floor.
“That could have been Seiichi-kun,” he whispered to
himself and then, shaking his head to rid himself of such thoughts Artemis
added, “And it would have served him right, too. He should have sensed the
Youma” but deep down the plushie was concerned that Seiichi did not.
Artemis, after having Venus snatched from his side, had
hardened his heart against any kind of friendship he might have had otherwise
with Seiichi. They fought for different sides. The Senshi and the Shitennou
were destined to be enemies and Artemis had felt bad enough collaborating with
one to start with. Things were different now he tried to remind himself. Venus
would only be freed if the Dark Kingdom was defeated and to do that Artemis
needed Seiichi and the others. Their mission was to stop Beryl and keep the
Princess from awakening. If the Princess ever obtained the Ginzuishou… Artemis
shook his head. Even though they both knew who the Princess was in this world,
they were loath to make a move against her yet. The Ginzuishou was what
mattered first. One could put out a fire with water, but to prevent a fire from
reoccurring one had to take safety measures to ensure that the incident was not
repeated. If they obtained the Ginzuishou then the Princess would be powerless.
He shuddered at the darkness of her expression and the
sneer that twisted her beautiful face. Venus… he hadn’t seen her since the past
life and now he was desperately wishing that it could remain so. This wasn’t
the Sailor Venus he remembered and loved… this was a twisted demon spawn of
Beryl’s darkness and whereas it might resemble Venus, the likeness was only on
the surface.
“Venus” Artemis whispered sadly, the memory of her brought
tears to his eyes. His best friend and ally…
Artemis turned away, wincing at every blow that was dealt
to the white haired Prince. He couldn’t watch this… no matter what he might
think of Seiichi…
“Seiichi…” he turned back to the sleeping pianist,
recalling every cry of pain that had escaped his lips, and the determination in
his eyes, even when outnumbered and in obvious agony.
The cat was shocked by his own actions as he stealthily
jumped onto the bed, landing neatly on the pillow. Seiichi lay on his side and
seemed fairly relaxed in his slumber. Artemis was glad and found himself making
a small purring noise as he curled up on the pillow beside his charge. The
comfort he derived from this simple act was strangely disturbing and Artemis
shifted slightly, the conflicts tearing at his soul. Finally, his want for
sleep won out and he curled down at Seiichi’s side once more, his green eyes
sliding closed as sleep overtook him.
*****
“What good would that do? What in hells could you tell
him? That we were fighting to save our Prince from the Dark Kingdom?”
“I was just saying…”
“Well don’t”
Taro slammed Crown’s double doors shut yet again as he
exited the building, his thoughts already in turmoil enough over the revelation
that the Dark Kingdom wanted Zoisite-sama alive and how close they had come to
capturing him, and then being made to clean Crown from top to bottom as a
punishment for leaving early was just the last straw. Motoki had left an hour
before, cheerfully declaring that he would see ‘Kimi-kun’ tomorrow and Taro had
almost punched him, but, in truth, he envied Motoki’s relaxed and friendly
demeanour. Taro knew his temper was out of control and did his best to curb it,
but most of the time his attempts met with complete failure.
It didn’t help that he was feeling a little down anyway,
especially where the mission was concerned.
The past life… Taro frowned unhappily. He should have
asked Zoisite-sama when he had the chance… but he didn’t want to admit that his
lack of memories bothered him, especially when they obviously caused his
friends so much pain. Zoisite-sama could have told him something and possible
helped him to regain his memories… and who knew when he would get the chance to
speak to the Prince again? None of them knew who he was and…
Taro’s line of thought was cut off when he heard a scream
close by. The sound cut through the night air and the pitch of the cry was such
that Taro immediately assumed that it was a Youma who had caused this. He broke
into a run, transforming as he did so, feeling strangely glad for the
distraction.
It was, indeed, a Youma. As Nephrite raced round the
corner and into an alley, he saw the beast standing over the fallen shape of a
girl. The girl appeared to be about fourteen years old, but in the gloom
Nephrite couldn’t make out any features of her or the Youma that he would have
to fight.
This did not bother him in the slightest; he had fought
his first Youma alone and had managed perfectly fine and, besides, his pride
wouldn’t let him go for help.
His first attack of red magics struck the Youma in the
chest, knocking it away from the innocent victim as intended and enabled
Nephrite to step between them.
The Youma, obviously intent on harvesting energy, lunged
for him, a blade-like arm swinging in a downward motion and would have struck
him had Nephrite not used his own sword to counter the blow. He gritted his
teeth as the Youma pressed down on his weapon, forcing him back several paces and
then using its free hand to grasp him, painfully, by the shoulder.
It’s claws dug into his flesh as it hurled him round and
then flung him to the floor. Nephrite struck the stone and rolled aside to
avoid the scythe that bit into the concrete at the same instance.
He scrambled to his feet, forgetting his own blade and
hurling a bolt of red energy at the Youma, catching it full in the face. It
screamed and fell back, clawing at its eyes and flailing its arms about in
panic.
Nephrite smirked at the scene and bent down to retrieve
his own weapon, assuming that the battle was won.
No sooner had he turned his back, did the Youma strike
again, with surprising speed and skill. It slammed into him, using its weight
to throw him heavily to the ground, but at the last moment Nephrite grabbed its
arm using his own fall to pull the Youma down with him. It landed beside him
and took a swipe at his face. Nephrite felt hot rage bubbling up inside of him
as he felt a clawed hand digging into the sensitive skin of his cheek. Rolling
out from underneath it, he snatched up his blade and swung it down, smirking in
triumph when the Youma squealed in agony. He repeated the motion twice more
until not even the slightest tremor shook the body of the creature.
Nephrite pulled his blade free and stepped back as rain
started to fall, washing the green blood from his sword and hands.
Now he turned to the fallen girl, taking a step towards
her, even as she managed to sit up.
“Daijobu?” he called uncertainly, considering whether it
might be better to change back into Kimura Taro before approaching her.
However, the girl did not seem hurt, only a little dazed and she managed to
find her feet on her own.
“Daijobu?” Nephrite repeated as she carefully brushed dark
hair from her eyes and looked up at him, a vicious smile curving her lips as
she gazed upon him. Then, before the red haired king could react, she thrust
her hands out in front of her as fire burst from her palms.
Stunned, Nephrite raised his cape to shield him… too late…
the fire tore through the fabric and he almost screamed in agony as it burned
through his uniform. Nephrite hit the ground, hot tears searing his eyes as the
smell of scorched flesh invaded his nostrils. He was dimly aware of blood
leaking from his left shoulder and more welled up in his mouth and dribbled
down his chin to mix with the already darkening pool beneath him. Painfully, he
turned his head slightly as the girl knelt down beside him. His vision started
to swim as he felt her magic take hold of his helpless body and then they were
gone.
Thunder rumbled in the distance… as the rain continued to
fall…
******
Act Nineteen Preview:
“Princess” Mamoru whispered to his reflection in the
bathroom mirror, “Did you really destroy the planet?”
~~~~~
“It’s all Kimi-kun’s fault” Motoki complained and Mamoru
couldn’t recall ever seeing his friend looking so angry. “He was supposed to be
here at 9.00am! He knew we had some parties on and I would need his help.”
“Did you try calling him?” Mamoru wanted to know.
“Of course” Motoki rolled his eyes, “There was no answer.
This is probably pay back for making him clean until the small hours, but what
did he expect after he locked up early and cost us an afternoon’s custom?”
~~~~
“I was thinking” Mamoru replied softly.
“Thinking?” Hina repeated, “You’ve been doing that a lot.
If there is anything the matter… I would like to help.”
“You two act like you are married the way you argue.”
“There is nothing wrong” Mamoru said at length, as he put
an arm around her shoulders, “I just feel as though I should be spending more
time with you, that is all.”
~~~~~
“The Shitennou… the four heavenly guardians” Dark Mars
continued and started to pace up and down in front of him, her heels clicking
loudly on the stone floor, “Your name makes you seem as though you are Gods.
Yet, judging from this poor performance, you are just as mortal as the rest of
us and feel pain, too. Interesting…”
~~~~
“It must have taken a lot out of you, to keep the Senshi
at bay for as long as you did.”
“It did” Seiichi admitted, “It was lucky that Artemis
found you when he did. A few more minutes and…” he broke off, thinking about
what could have happened obviously disturbed him somewhat and Masaki couldn’t
blame him for that.
“Did you mean what you said? Would you have killed
yourself?”
Seiichi shrugged, keeping his gaze fixed on the ground,
“Sacrifice can be noble, but there are other ways.”
“Which are?”
~~~~
“Zoisite. Since the past life I have sought to make you my
own. You might have eluded my Senshi, but your Shitennou cannot protect you
forever. We have one of your Shitennou, Zoisite, and, unless you give yourself
up, we will kill him.”